Midgar University
by Exystence
Summary: AU Cloud goes to college after having run away from home a year before, only to be surprised with who he finds there... on perhaps permanent hiatus
1. Getting Acquainted

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII nor it's characters.

Midgar University

Chapter 1 - Getting Acquainted

~*~*~*~

The blond, spikey-haired 18-year-old walked down the path to massive dormitory. He walked through the double doors. Looking around through the main lounge, he noticed mainly two things; this place was very loud, and very disorderly. A massive crowd of at least three-hundred loud teenagers had gathered around a desk much too small for the task it was needed for. Mounds of papers were scattered on the desk and on the floor around it. _This could take a while..._ the young blond thought.

He waited in that hall for at least an hour before he finally reached the desk. A young girl with an extremely tired look on her face greeted him with a fake smile. He handed her the slip he got in the main office. She studied it momentarily and then shuffled through the now much smaller stack of papers. "Let's see here... Stanley, Storm, Stratus... Ah, here we are. Cloud Strife." She handed him the paper. She flashed him another fake smile before he walked away toward the stairs behind her.

Cloud studied the paper. _Room 3-AG. _He walked down the corridor of the third floor, eventually finding his room. One thing he noticed that seemed both inviting and a turn-off at the same time was that it was a coed dorm. _Oh well, I suppose I'll get used to be around girls more often._ He took out the key from his pocket and unlocked the door to the dorm.

"..." Another young man sat silently in a chair at one side of the room. His long, dark hair hung over his face like a mask, giving Cloud the impression that he wasn't exactly welcome in his dorm. Except, it was now **their **dorm room. Cloud spoke the first words between the two. "So, I suppose we'll be living together. My name's Cloud... and yours?" The raven-haired man stared directly at Cloud, his eyes unmoving. "Vincent." His deep voice was plain, but yet it still resonated through the room with an undertone of morbidity. "Just make sure you don't mix your things with mine."

Cloud replied, "I don't think that'll be _too _hard." Vincent smirked and gave a short laugh. "Haha... I think I can get used to living with you."

~~~~~

Cloud took a seat towards the back of the auditorium. _Everything is so different here... There's nobody to boss you around, telling you to do your work or anything like that... It's great, but it's gonna take some getting used to... _ Cloud was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that a familiar brunette beauty had come and sit down next to him. "Hey Cloud, it's me! It's been a year now, hasn't it?" she said as she poked him in the ribs. Cloud jumped a little, startled, and momentarily didn't recognize her. _What the... OH! _ "Tifa! I..." She gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. Cloud was momentarily stunned once again, and started up once again saying, "... know you were coming here. So when is the orientation supposed to start?" Tifa shook her head and said, "Any minute now, I guess."

Tifa talked to Cloud about things back in Nibelheim for a while, until Tifa finally asked, "Cloud, where have you been for the past year?" Cloud turned and looked at the floor. "I... well, it's a long story." Tifa rested her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands. "I'm listening."

"Well, you see... After a while... I just felt like I had to get away from Nibelheim. I don't know why..." _Actually, I know exactly why. It's because nobody wanted me around. No one ever liked me... They always picked fights with me. So why stick around? _Cloud continued, "Well, I just traveled around, killing monsters for money, being taken in wherever I they would let me stay. Eventually I made my way here to Midgar, found about this school, and I decided to apply. I had just enough money to pay my way through."

Tifa shook her head. "But... why enroll here? If you had that much money, you could have easily bought a house or started a business or something." Cloud responded, "Well, actually, the Shinra pushed me into enrolling after a bunch of monsters attacked this family, and I saved them. I decided to go along with them since... well, I suppose being a part of SOLDIER is better than nothing." _Yeah... and maybe because I've been lonely being a nomad all this time..._

Cloud looked back up to Tifa, who was looking towards the door. Cloud turned his head and saw an extremely tall man with long silver hair entering the auditorium. Cloud smirked. _Sephiroth... Long time no see. _Tifa turned back to Cloud. "Look Cloud, it's Sephiroth! I'm gonna go say 'hi' to him, do you wanna come?" Cloud nodded and followed Tifa up the right side aisle to the door. She gave Sephiroth a hug and kiss on the cheek like she did to Cloud. Cloud shook Sephiroth's hand and said, "'Sup Sephiroth. It's been over a year now, hasn't it?" Sephiroth smiled. "Yeah. I was rather angry after you left. You didn't even say a word. What happened?" Cloud looked down to Sephiroth's shoes. "It's a long story..."

An important looking man stepped up to the podium and coughed lightly into the microphone a few times as a signal for everyone to take seats. "Okay, it is time for the orientation to begin."

~~~~~

"All SOLDIER-Trainee Level S students are to stay in the auditorium, all other students are dismissed. Good luck in your studies at Shinra U." The speaker motioned towards the doors, which were quickly overrun by stampeding students bent on getting out of that auditorium as quickly as possible (not without reason, as the orientation speech was extremely long and boring). The remaining students moaned and sighed as they watched their colleagues leave to freedom. Before long, a short man in a white labcoat with long, jet-black hair and small, circular glasses stood before the podium.

He stood silently for a few seconds, and then began rather abruptly. "So, you all hope to join the elite of the SOLDIER? Hahahaha... I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into. Only the best make it to SOLDIER First Class, and only the best of the best will survive in SOLDIER First Class. You will be trained with the toughest regimens, you will go through rigorous tests and trials, and you will have things done to your body that may kill you or at least severely damage your body permanently. You must be strong, brave, and, above all, determined. If you do not have these qualities, then I will suggest you leave this room immediately and forget any dreams of joining SOLDIER in any form." He paused for a moment while three guys left the room.

He continued as if he had never stopped. "However, even if you have all of these qualities, it will still be very hard to get in. As you already know from your schedules, all SOLDIER candidates are in advanced subjects, and you have 4 hours of training every day aside from that. It will take your utmost dedication to make the grade, and it must take priority over everything else in your life. Classes do not start until next week, but your training starts tomorrow. Be prepared and bring your weapons. Dismissed!"

Cloud watched as the man walked out the door, with a permanently slouched back. _That would be the famous... or should I say infamous... Professor Hojo. Not exactly the friendliest of people, it seems._

"So what did you think, Cloud?" Cloud jumped a bit as Sephiroth came from behind. "That was my father."

Cloud blinked. "...What?!?" Sephiroth gave a quiet laugh. "Yes, he's my father. Probably the strangest man I know." Cloud tried to find any kind of resemblance between the two and failed. "Umm, you don't look anything like each other." Sephiroth laughed audibly this time. "Thank God for that..."

~~~~~

He walked around in a very slow, deliberate way so as to take in the atmosphere of the place. It was a very big campus, taking up over a square mile of land. He was walking outside in the park. The sun was beginning to set in the West; the sky was a bright shade of orange, creating soft, red shadows on the clouds. Cloud sat at a bench and looked towards the horizon.

__

It's so peaceful here... It's nothing like I expected, since there were so many people at the orientation. Well, I suppose it's because everyone's unpacking. Cloud sighed. _So what I hoped and dreaded at the same time has become reality. Tifa's here. My longtime childhood crush... It's so strange though, because she acted like we were best friends back at the orientation, but in reality, we were never really close at all. I rarely ever had the courage to talk to her, and I wasn't given much of a chance either, with all her idiotic friends in the way. They never did let me play with them or anything. Then we got older, went through high school and all, and they still refused to acknowledge that I was human just like them. Although, Tifa had always seemed to want to be my friend, but something held her back. But even still... now Tifa... Wait, I remember I wrote a letter to her before I left, and I threw it through her bedroom window. Did she actually read it...?_

Cloud came out of his thoughts and noticed a girl walking in his direction. She was beautiful; her brown hair was in a lose braid down her back, and she had these incredibly deep emerald eyes. She caught his glimpse and in return flashed a smile at him as she walked by. He somehow managed to smile back, although very meekly. The girl seemed to giggle a bit, and continued walking on.

A few yards down, guy with black hair seemed to appear out of nowhere and suddenly hugged the girl. He moved in to kiss her... _Shit. Screw this... _ Cloud got up and walked away in the opposite direction back to his dorm. _Just my luck, eh? The one girl that I thought seemed interested in me has a boyfriend already. Oh well, I might as well put this past me. I have enough on my mind already. I might as well go get some sleep._

~~~~~

When Cloud reached the dormitory building, Tifa was outside, leaning against the wall. "Hey, Cloud." Cloud walked over and leaned on the wall next to her. "Hey. Something wrong?" Tifa shook her head. "No, it's nothing." Cloud looked down at the floor. "Okay... so, umm... well..." He looked over at Tifa. A single, glittering tear was streaking down her face. "Just... that bastard Zack..." Cloud thought for a moment. _Zack? Zack Mason?_ Cloud stood up straight. "Umm... Zack Mason?" Tifa nodded. "Do you know him?" she asked. "Yeah, I guess you could say I do," Cloud responded. _I only dormed with him for half a year._ "What the hell did he do to you?"

"He... he just brought back old wounds. I used to go out with him last year. Actually, it was a little after you left. I really liked him even if we were only going out for three months. Well, he cheated on me. I dumped him once I found out, and I was heartbroken. I hadn't heard from him at all until now. He... tried to kiss me... But I pushed him away... and he said, 'So that's how it is, huh?' and he ran off..." The tears were falling faster as she spoke. She hugged Cloud tightly and cried into his chest. Cloud put his hands around her and stroked her long, straight, dark brown hair. "Don't worry Tifa... It's okay..."

After a while, Tifa stopped crying and let go of Cloud. "Thank you, Cloud..." She turned away from him. "I'm sorry for all that..." Cloud scratched his head. "Ah, it was no problem." Tifa turned back towards him and looked at him with pleading eyes. "I know I wasn't all that great of a friend to you when we were little kids, but I hope it's not too late to start now..." Cloud lost himself in her wine-colored eyes. _Her eyes... They're still a little filled with tears... They look so beautiful... _"Huh... Oh, sure... It's okay. I'll be glad to be your friend."

Tifa gave him another hug and smiled at him. "Thanks, Cloud. You're the best. Hey, do you wanna go eat breakfast tomorrow?" Cloud replied, "Sure, as long as I get back by 10:30. I have my first day of training at 11." Tifa looked surprised. "You're a Level S Trainee?!?" Cloud chuckled. "Hehe, yup."

"So you must be pretty strong then, huh."

"I suppose so..." Cloud wasn't exactly sure why he was put in the Level S program. _That's supposed to be for the extremely talented, something I definitely am not._ "Well, I gotta go now."

Tifa waved. "I'll meet you out here at 9. Don't be late! Bye!" Cloud waved back.

~~~~~

When Cloud returned to his room, he noticed that it was empty. _No sign of that Vincent guy. Oh well, whatever._

Cloud entered the bathroom. He stripped down and got in the shower. He turned the hot water on all the way up. _Mmm... so relaxing..._

He found his mind drifting as he relaxed with the steaming water running down his face and chest. _Zack... Hmm, he used to tell me about having a girlfriend when we roomed... but that was only until a month ago, and Tifa said they were going out for only the first three months after I left..._

He got out of the shower, dried himself, and put on a tanktop and boxers. He made for the bed, jumping in and settling as quickly as he could, trying to make himself fall asleep.

Despite his exhaustion after such a long day, he was unable to fall asleep. For a while, there was nothing at all. He could hear his own breathing. Then, something occurred to him.

__

Holy shit, was he the guy that kissed that girl that walked by me in the park today? I didn't even bother to notice it was him! But that's weird... He never really seemed like that kind of guy. Sure, he was confident, but whenever we went out, he was really respectful to girls and stuff... Ah, this is too much to handle right now. There's Tifa coming here unexpected, and Sephiroth coming along with her, and then now Zack. And that girl... Damn Zack, that lucky bastard. Bah, I need some rest...

Finally unable to withstand the fatigue any longer, Cloud fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

A/N: Yeah so, I wasn't sure about putting up a prologue first, but in the end, I decided not to. Things are starting off slowly, I know, just bare with me. Please review this!!!! Constructive criticism is always helpful.

Also, if you wish to flame me, then go ahead. ;) All you'll be doing is boosting my review count.


	2. Training

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.

Midgar University

Chapter 2 - Training

~*~*~*~

Cloud walked out of the dormitory building and searched for Tifa. He saw Tifa leaning against the lamppost, wearing a loose black blouse and hip-hugging light-blue jeans. Even in casual wear, she was absolutely stunning. He stood for a while just staring at her in a kind of awe until she noticed that he had come out, and she waved at him, snapping Cloud out of his spell.

"Hey Cloud! You ready to go eat? I'm getting pretty hungry..."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, let's go, I'm starving. So umm... where to?" Tifa walked over to him and grabbed his arm, leading him away from the dorm building. "I know this place nearby here, it's off campus though. I went to eat there when I came here a few months ago for the open campus." Cloud wasn't paying too much attention, for he was a little uneasy with having Tifa locking her arm with his because it seemed that every time they took a stride, his arm brushed up against her breast.

"Yeah... uh huh... sure..."

"Is something wrong, Cloud?" Tifa stopped and looked over at Cloud with a confused face. Cloud tried to appear as if nothing was out of the ordinary and responded, "What? Nothing, why would you think something was wrong?"

His little act wasn't good enough apparently, since Tifa saw right through it and frowned. Then her face lit up as if she just realized something. "Oh my God... this isn't the first time you've walked around with a girl before, is it?"

Cloud's face flushed. _Shit, this actually is the first time I've ever walked around with a girl. I'm so fucking sad._ "Huh... no! Of course not, I uhh..."

Tifa giggled. "Hehe... You're so cute when you're embarrassed. Just don't worry about it, Cloud, it's not so bad." Cloud gave a forced 'hehe', his cheeks still red with embarassment.

They continued walking down, with Tifa trying to make conversation with Cloud. "So, tell me... Did anything special happen after you left Nibelheim?" Cloud shook his head. "No... Well, maybe, but not really." 

"Maybe? Like what?" Tifa pressed. Cloud scratched his head and said, "Well, I saved this old man and his wife from a bunch of monsters that attacked them. Made me a neighborhood hero, actually. That was around Gongaga."

Tifa's interest suddenly seemed to increase drastically. "Gongaga... Did anything else happen there?" Cloud was confused for a moment. _Huh... What does she mean, if 'anything else happened there'? Why would she care? Unless there was something or some... someone... _Cloud finally realized what she wanted to know. "Yeah... that was where I met Zack. It was his parents that I saved. They let me stay at their house with Zack."

Tifa nodded. "That's cool." Cloud gave her a 'huh?' look. She responded by saying, "Don't worry, I'm over the whole thing, and I'm over him. I figure that if I was gonna cry over someone, it would be someone much better than him." Then, Cloud swore he heard her say something to the effect of 'and I've found someone much better already'. _No, Cloud, that would be your dick making you hear things._ He decided to shrug it off, and they continued walking along.

~~~~~

Eventually they made it down to the restaurant. The host led them to a table for two nearby the window. "Once again, thanks for coming to the Egg Palace, and I hope you enjoy your meal." She winked at Cloud and walked away. _Okay, that was odd. Unless she was insinuating that we were going out, but then again she seems to be a little too young to be doing that. I would figure someone older would be like 'Go get 'em' or something. Oh well. Whatever._ Cloud noticed a smile on Tifa's face as she read through the menu.

"I think she likes you, Cloud."

"What?" Cloud didn't understand.

"You saw her wink at you, didn't you?" Tifa explained, "She was subtly hitting on you Cloud. You're pretty much totally new when it comes to girls, aren't you?" She giggled. "You know, it's pretty weird... I remember back in high school, a lot of girls used to like you. But you were always so to yourself, and it drove away a lot of them. You have to open up, Cloud!"

Cloud listened in a sort of disbelief. "Umm... I don't think that's possible. I was... always being made fun of by everyone. Why would a girl like someone who gets picked on so much...?"

"But you used to fight back, at least. And you would win, too. I remember that whenever you got into a fight, it usually ended up with a bunch of guys trying to take you down... And you were all alone, fighting an army..." Tifa frowned. "You know, I used to worry about you, sometimes."

"Really?" Cloud didn't understand how she could have even bothered to care. _Yeah, you were always with that group of jackasses that I used to fight all the time..._

Tifa cut off his thoughts. "Cloud... I always wanted to get to know you, but you always seemed to distance yourself from everyone... from me... I mean, I know that it didn't help with my friends being mean to you all the time, but after a while you seemed to stop caring."

Cloud rubbed his forehead. _Yeah... and that was why I ended up leaving. I didn't care anymore about anything. All I wanted was to get away from it all. _"But... I still never forgot about you..."

Cloud froze. He felt the words slip out of his mouth, and by the time he tried to stop it, it was already too late. Tifa sat at the other end of the table with a look of shock on her face. "Cloud, I--"  


"Heeeeeey, look who it is! 'Sup, Cloud! Long time no see!" Zack thrust his hand out to Cloud, who gave him a quick, firm handshake. "Hey, assho-- I mean, Zack. I guess it's been a while, hasn't it." _Yeah, and that while hasn't been long enough._

"Whoa whoa whoa... What's _she _doing here?" He motioned towards Tifa.

"Well, as if it weren't obvious, we are ordering some breakfast. What are _you _doing here?" Cloud asked in return. Zack smacked his hand down Cloud's shoulder. "Doing the same, my friend." He motioned his head over to a table nearby, where a Wutaian girl with short black hair was waiting for him to return. 

"Well, I must be going. See you later, Cloud!" He turned to Tifa and added with a very subtly sarcastic tone, "Bye, Tifa!" Tifa waved while still looking at the menu. She hadn't bothered to look at him the entire time he was there. "Bye, ass."

~~~~~

__

Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. Cloud put the barbell down and got up off the bench, drenched in sweat. _Damn, a hundred reps at two hundred pounds... this Hojo guy is fucking insane... _Cloud headed over to the locker room to get out of his workout uniform.

"'Sup Cloud, we didn't get a chance to talk at the restaurant. How have ya been doin'?" Zack appeared right behind him out of nowhere once again. Cloud pulled and zipped up his pants and turned to face Zack as he fastened his belt.

"I've been alright, I suppose. I have something to ask you." Zack eyed him suspiciously. "I suppose she told you about us...?" Cloud nodded, and his face suddenly turned very serious. "What the fuck did you do to her?"

Zack seemed to keep very calm. "Yeah, about that... Well, we used to go out before I knew you. Things weren't working out, so I started to see another girl. I wanted to end things with Tifa right then and there, but I didn't have the heart. I could tell she had already fallen for me pretty bad... But I got caught and someone told her and she broke up with me anyway, so--"

"I already know about that; what did you do to her yesterday?" Cloud had grown impatient and had interrupted him.

"Whoa, calm down..." Zack stayed cool, and when he spoke, it was sincere. "Listen, I saw her and I came over to her to say hi, and I leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. I thought that all that happened before was in the past, but apparently not, 'cause she just pushed me away. So I was like, 'So that's how it is,' and I walked away."

"But... she said that you tried to _kiss_ her... I'm pretty sure she didn't mean on the cheek." Cloud was suspicious of his story. Although he had to admit that he sounded completely sincere, he couldn't trust him, especially after seeing him kissing that girl yesterday and then eating breakfast with another girl this morning.

Zack thought for a moment. "Well, I can see why she might have thought that..." He paused for a moment, then just blurted out, "I can't believe you, man."

"...What?" Cloud didn't understand what he could have been talking about. Zack continued, "How could you question that I'm not telling the truth! I thought you were my best friend, Cloud."

Cloud was shocked. _Best friends? What the fuck... _Cloud scratched his head. "But... How could you do that! I saw you kissing some other girl in the park a little while before I saw Tifa outside the dorm building crying... And then today you were eating breakfast with some other girl! Just going from one girl to the next, that's not right!"

Zack was confused. "What the hell are you talking about? I wasn't kissing some girl yesterday in the park. Wait... did the girl have brown hair and green eyes... really pretty girl?" Cloud nodded.

Zack smacked his forehead as if he had reached an obvious conclusion. "So you where that guy I saw walking away... Dude, that was Aeris, the girl that I was going out with when Tifa dumped me! I told you about her!"

Cloud thought back. _Hmm, I remember him always sending letters to some girl in Midgar when we were living together in Gongaga, and then he would always leave on the weekends to Midgar... He told me about her... For some reason, I don't remember the name 'Aeris' though... _"Yeah, I guess you did tell me about her. So what happened in the park with her, then?"

Zack gave a fake chuckle, and he spoke with a touch of gloom in his voice. "I went in to give her a kiss, but she pushed me away and dumped me right there. She hadn't heard from me in two months, so I don't blame her."

Zack's sadness seemed to evaporate almost immediately a few seconds later, and he added, "But I met this cute girl near my dorm, who is the one I was eating with this morning. I might as well get over Aeris quickly before I let it get me down, right?"

Cloud nodded, not out of agreement, but out of understanding. _I see where you're coming from, but finding someone else so quickly is like saying that you don't care about that other girl, Aeris._

~~~~~

Hojo stood before the group of about forty young men in training. He spoke with his usual strange accent, typical to those of the mad scientists seen in old monster movies. "Welcome, gentlemen, to the sparring arena. Those of you who are new have probably already heard that every odd day on the calendar is a sparring day. Today is the 19th of August, so your first day of sparring will be today. Each battle will be to the death."

Several of the new students muttered under their breathes, "What the fuck..."

Hojo continued as though what he said was nothing out of the ordinary. "Your battles will be recorded, and you will each be evaluated for your technique, your intelligence, and your battle instinct as well as your physical capabilities. We will also be looking for what we call 'intangibles', or uncommon traits that would separate you from ordinary soldiers. Also, take note that no materia is to be equipped to your weapons or armor, and no items are to be used during battle. Good luck."

"Oh yes," he continued as though he had forgotten someone. "Those who have been defeated will be revived with a Phoenix Down before permanent death occurs, so there is no need to worry about your well-being."

The newcomers all gave a collective sigh of relief.

Hojo pulled out a list. "You have all been paired with a partner at random. Your partner will changed every sparring session, so do not worry if the match-up is uneven. First pair: Zacharias Ezekiel Mason and Vladimir Petroff."

Zack and a tall, thin guy got up and walked over to the mat. Each of them kept his head down until they reached the mat, where they then stretched out and prepared for battle.

"Prepare your weapons!" Zack pulled out huge sword not unlike Cloud's own Buster Sword. The only noticeable difference with that it was double-edged and significantly shorter than his own. Vladimir pulled out pair of blue nightsticks with blades on the long end.

Hojo grinned, and with a distinct tone of morbid pleasure in his voice said, "_Begin._"

Zack was immediately being slashed at furiously by his foe, but he managed to avoid getting anything but his clothes cut. Zack saw an opening in Vladimir's blitzkrieg and struck him in the head with the hilt of his sword, causing Vladimir to double back. Zack rushed forward and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall on the ground. He stabbed down at the floor, attempting to impale Vladimir with his sword, but he rolled out of the way, barely avoiding his death early in the match. Vladimir swung his bladed nightsticks at Zack feet, but Zack saw this attack coming and he jumped out of the way. 

Vladimir quickly got back up and resumed his blitzkrieg on Zack, flailing his sticks wildly. Zack, growing tired of Vladimir's attempts, simply dodged his way around his attacks and found himself easily able to get behind Vladimir. He swung his sword at his back, creating a long slice down the right side of his back. Vladimir fell to the ground instantly, dropping one of his sticks. He managed to get up quickly, though obviously in pain. He attempted to somehow get in close range, but his attempts weren't working with Zack swinging at him every time he took a step forward. Then, suddenly, Vladimir threw his remaining nightstick at Zack like a throwing dagger, which Zack dodged easily, but it allowed Vladimir to finally get in close. He threw a hook at Zack's temple, connecting cleanly.

Zack fell to the ground almost immediately, and Vladimir pounced on him like an animal pounces on it's prey. He beat on his face, cutting his face and creating massive bleeding. Despite it seeming impossible in this current situation, Zack somehow managed to get his arms free from under Vladimir's knees, and used the strength he had left to give him a hard elbow straight to the jaw. The blow must have sent a shockwave through his head, because he flopped like a ragdoll and fell to the floor beside Zack.

Zack got up and grabbed his sword, and he walked over to Vladimir, lying on the floor almost unconscious. He aimed his sword downwards and hung it over his head for a few moments, before finally plunging it down through Vladimir's chest. Vladimir coughed out blood, and in a few seconds, he was dead.

Hojo clapped. "Very well, Mr. Mason." Zack walked back up to the bench, his left eye swelling up and his face full of blood. Hojo handed him an X-Potion, which Zack immediately drank. Within seconds, all of his wounds seemed to magically closed by themselves, and suddenly it seemed as though he hadn't even fought at all. Hojo walked over to Vladimir's body and opened a bag of Phoenix Down over him. The wound in his chest closed up, and he was revived almost instantly. Hojo gave him an X-Potion as well, instantly healing the rest of Vladimir's wounds.

Hojo took out his list again and with the same, sick smile as before, announced the next match. "Jonas Monmouth and Horatio Mendoza."

~~~~~

Cloud sat, anxiously watching everyone else fight, waiting for his turn to come up, until eventually everyone else had gone besides him and whoever he was to fight.

Hojo looked over his list once last time. "Ah yes... Cloud Strife." Cloud stood and walked over to the mat, where he stretched and loosened up as everyone else had before him. "... and Sephiroth Alexandros-Hojo."

__

WHAT!!! Oh fuck, I'm dead... Cloud watched in horror as Sephiroth walked towards the mat, his trenchcoat flowing almost like a cape behind him. He took it off as he stepped onto the mat and threw it to the other side.

__

Shit shit shit SHIT! I remember back in Nibelheim when he got into a fight with that one kid that tried to get tough with him... He nearly killed the kid with one punch in the gut... He was vomiting blood and was bleeding internally... With one fucking punch... I am SO _dead... _Cloud's thoughts ran wild and a kind of fear for his life seemed to overcome him. He had cold sweats and had become deathly pallid.

Sephiroth stared directly into Cloud's eyes. He saw the fear in his eyes. _Cloud... I'm sorry that I have to do this._ He unsheathed his incredibly long, legendary sword Masamune, his signature weapon and trusted partner in battle. They say that he is the only one who can control it's mysterious power...

Cloud took his own Buster Sword from it's sheathe on his back. Its enormity made it hard to control, but through the years he had used it since he had found it in the Shinra Mansion that one day when he was seven years old, he had been able to master it.

He stood in his ready stance, with his sword out in front of him, and one knee bent in front of him. Sephiroth stood straight up, his chest facing diagonally to Cloud, holding his Masamune too his chest, the blade pointing at Cloud.

Hojo yelled, "Well, get on with it already! Stop wasting time!"

At this, Sephiroth immediately dashed at Cloud, his sword ready to slash Cloud's head clean off. Cloud was able to react in time, though, and parried the attack with his own sword. Sephiroth seemed to be surprised, as Cloud was able to follow the parry up with a slash at Sephiroth's chest, causing a shallow cut. However, almost instantaneously, the wound closed up and looked as if he had never been hit. _What the fu--_ Cloud's shock left him wide open, and Sephiroth seized the opportunity by impaling Cloud straight through the stomach.

"AHH!!!!! FUCK... da..mn..." Cloud found his breath shortening quickly. Sephiroth lifted Cloud with his sword. Darkness was starting to overcome Cloud. _The pain... Dammit... I can't... Die so easily..._ Cloud gathered what energy he had left and threw his sword at Sephiroth, which stabbed deeply through his chest. Sephiroth dropped his sword (with Cloud still on it) and fell to the ground. _Heh... heh... heh...... Got 'em......... _The darkness finally got to Cloud, and his consciousness slipped away.

A few minutes later, Cloud was revived and fully healed. "Not bad, Cloud. You almost got me." Sephiroth gave his hand out to Cloud. "Hehe, umm... thanks." Cloud shook it. Sephiroth continued, "You're the only person that has almost beaten me in a fight, ever." Cloud scratched his head and said modestly, "No... you're just saying that to make me feel better." Sephiroth shook his head. "I mean it. You're my friend, why would I lie to you?"

Cloud thought about that. _You're my friend...? Well... I suppose that out of everyone back in Nibelheim, I talked to you the most. We were buddies, yeah. _"Seph... thanks."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. Cloud added, "For being my friend, I mean. I can't say that I had many of those back in Nibelheim." Sephiroth shrugged it off with a smile.

They made their way into the locker room. Cloud showered and got dressed quickly. He had overheard a bunch of guys in the showers making fun of someone's 'package' and didn't want to be another victim of their jibes.

As he was making his way out, Zack called to him. "Yo Cloud!" He walked over and patted Cloud on the back. "Good job fighting Sephiroth, even though you didn't win. That guy is inhuman... He pulled out your sword from his chest while he was lying on the ground, and in two minutes, he got back up and was fully healed! With no magic or items or anything!"

Cloud wasn't surprised. "Yeah, I know... He's from my hometown, so I've known about all that for a while."

Zack turned for the door. "Well, don't worry bro, I'll beat 'em when I fight 'em for ya. Later, Cloud!" Cloud returned the good-bye saying, "Later." He added under his breath, "And yeah, I'd like to see you try..."

~~~~~

Cloud found himself wandering back to the same bench in the park. He sat down and looked towards the sunset. It was exactly the same as the one yesterday. _And exactly the same as the ones back in Nibelheim. I remember, back before I left... I used to go up to Mt. Nibel to get away from everything. I used to watch the sunset, and it never changed. I don't know why I bothered to go back, because it was always the same... And it's funny, because I was looking to get away from all that when I left... And, would you know it, Tifa and Sephiroth are here. And now even the sky is the same..._

"Hi."

Cloud jumped. That girl that had passed in front of him yesterday had just come and sit down next to him on the park bench. "H... h... hey..." he managed to stutter out. He smiled meekly at her in return to her own smile.

Her beauty was incredible. Her hair was pulled back into a big, loose braid down her back. Her eyes shone a tantalizing shade of emerald green. _I could lose myself forever in those eyes..._

"You're... Cloud, right?" she asked. "I'm Aeris."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm Cloud... Is something wrong?"

"No, no... It's just that Zack told me a lot about you back when we were going out. I saw him talk to you in the restaurant earlier today."

Cloud was confused. "Huh? I didn't see you there. And you weren't the one eating with him."

Aeris explained, "I was sitting in another section, but I managed to get a glimpse of you two. He told me that you had spikey, blonde hair, so I figured it was you. And I haven't seen any other spikey, blonde haired guys here anyway..."

Cloud laughed a bit. "Yeah, I suppose it's not exactly common for guys to have my hairstyle."

Aeris laughed a little as well, and then there was a silence for a few moments. Cloud broke the silence and asked, "So... what are you doing here?" Aeris looked out to the horizon. "Nothing... Just watching the sunset. It's so beautiful..." Cloud shook his head, "Well, I've seen too much of it..."

"What do you mean?" Aeris turned her head on the side diagonally and looked at Cloud with questioning eyes.

"Uhh... nevermind. It's a long story, you wouldn't wanna hear it anyway." Cloud didn't want to bore her with his life's story. _No one wants to hear the story of a vagrant..._

She pleaded with him, "Don't worry, I've got time." She added, "Zack told me you used to live in Nibelheim, but then you ran away."

"What?" Cloud was offended by the statement. "I didn't run away! I... I just... didn't want to be around there anymore." But, as he said that, he realized that in actuality, _I did run away... All this time, I've just been running. Running from the people. I was running from the repugnance that everyone had of me... I couldn't fight them back, only with my fists. But they hurt me deeper than that. I've always been so weak... I fucking hate myself..._

"Cloud, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad..."

Aeris gave him a hug. Cloud, surprised, pulled back a bit at first, but eventually let her take hold of him. The fact that she was hugging him made Cloud forget about his thoughts. _... Her touch is so soft... _ He suddenly snapped him out of it and grabbed Aeris's arm. "Umm... thanks..." He pulled her arm off of him. "I needed that. Thank you, Aeris."

She giggled. "It's okay, Cloud, you don't have to thank me." He shrugged. By now, he was really uncomfortable. He looked at his watch. "Hmm, 6:34... I'm getting pretty hungry... Well, I gotta go. I'll, uhh, see you around, I guess." He turned around and started walking away.

"Hey, wait!" Aeris called after him. "How about we go out for dinner?"

"Well, umm... I guess that would be cool." _Cloud, what the hell are you getting yourself in to! This isn't like Tifa, you just met this girl a little while ago!_ Cloud ignored his inner voice's warnings. "So, where do you wanna eat?"

Aeris shrugged. "I don't know, I guess we can walk around and see what we find."

Cloud nodded. "Sure, all right then." Aeris walked up next to him and took his arm. Cloud, finding himself in a familiar position, said, "Umm... alright then... Let's go."

~*~*~*~

A/N: It seems there will be action in this fic too... I was pretty happy with the fight scenes in this one, but I'm not too sure about anything else, really... I tried to explain everything that had happened before the start of the fic, so hopefully I did a good job of that. That whole Aeris thing might be a little too sudden, although that was what I was going for. But even so, I still don't really know what I'm gonna make this in to, so there are probably still a few surprises in store.

Oh yeah, sorry about changing that whole thing about Cloud and the Buster Sword... I really wanted him to have it (it's my favorite sword in the game and quite possibly in the world for some reason O_o;;), so I came up with that whole 'he found it' thing on the fly.

And in case you haven't figured it out yet, the person's thoughts are in italics. So far it's been mostly Cloud (actually, all Cloud I think), but soon there will be other people with inner dialogue. And... the five tildes indicate a change of scene. ^_^

And... I've already begun writing the next chapter. Thanks for reading, and please review! :D


	3. Questions and Answers

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters.

Note: '***' indicates a flashback from here on. ^_^

Midgar University

Chapter 3 - Questions and Answers

~*~*~*~

Cloud walked arm in arm with Aeris down the street, their stomachs filled to the brim. "That was some really good food, even if it was a little spicy," Aeris said.

"Well, I like spicy food," Cloud commented. Aeris slid her arm down and took Cloud's hand. Cloud felt the hairs on his arm stand on end. He coughed. "Eh-ehm."

"What? Oh, sorry." She let go of his hand and turned her head slightly away from him. He saw that her ears were red. He felt embarrassed himself; he hadn't meant to make her think that he didn't want her to hold his hand, it was just that he was uncomfortable. The thing was that now he didn't have the courage to take her hand back. He decided that starting up conversation would be the best course of action. He had already told her all about himself (albeit not by his choice, since she kept asking him all these questions during dinner), so he should ask her about herself.

"So umm... What brought you here to this school?" he asked.

"Well, I wanted to become a nurse, or maybe even a doctor. If I do become a doctor, I'd probably be a pediatrician. I love taking care of kids." She looked ahead of her longingly. "Well, there are other reasons I came here..."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... like what? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"Oh, it's nothing, really," she blushed as she spoke, "but I figured I might... find someone for me here." She turned to Cloud with an embarrassed smile on her face. Cloud looked at her questioningly. _... No way. This is not possible._

Suddenly, she took his hand, looking down to the floor. She thought, _It's now or never._ "Cloud... I... Well, I don't know if I'm ready to say this yet..." Cloud's thoughts rushed at him. _Oh... my... God... This can't really be happening. It can't. This isn't happening. Please tell me you're joking. I don't know the first thing about girls, what the hell do you want from me!_

Aeris looked back up and into Cloud's eyes. "Cloud... I know we just met a little while ago... And I know I just broke up with Zack yesterday, but... I really like you."

Cloud's thoughts were now in a frenzy. _What the fuck am I supposed to do... I don't know the first thing about girls, why does she like me... I've never had a girl like me before, much less a girl tell me she likes me... How am I supposed to handle this?!? This is a dream, no, a nightmare... God, why can't I just wake up from this?!?!?_

Cloud came back to reality, only to meet Aeris's emerald eyes looking deeply into his own sapphire ones. Cloud's mind went blank as Aeris's face came inching closer to his. Before he knew it, their lips had joined. Cloud found his tongue entering through Aeris's slightly spread lips. A surge of emotion shot through him. Their tongues collided, electric currents flowing between their mouths. Their tongues danced and danced until they both pulled back, breathless.

"I... I..." Cloud was speechless. _I... What just happened...? I can't believe this... That was so incredible... All that emotion, all that energy... It was amazing. Aeris... so amazing._

"Cloud..." She smiled at him and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and digging her head in his chest. Cloud wrapped his arms around her, hugging tightly. _I don't ever want to let go..._

Whoa. What am I saying? I've only just met her... It was just a kiss, that's all. But... it's a start. Cloud looked down at her. "Aeris..." She turned her head up to look at Cloud. Cloud started, "I know we've just met, but... Ahh..."

Aeris's eyes lit up. "Of course I'll go out with you!" She hugged him even tighter than before, then tilted her head up, got on her tiptoes, and kissed Cloud on the lips.

"Okay, so umm... I guess that's settled..."

~~~~~

Cloud lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling, and then at a slip of paper with Aeris's room number and phone number on it. He was deep in thought. _I've just gotten my first girlfriend... But... why am not happier? Why am I worried... What's wrong with me... This whole girlfriend thing can't be too hard to manage, right? If anything, I could ask Zack for help..._

Just then, the thought occurred to him. _Holy shit, I just stole Zack's girlfriend! Well, his ex, but still... He's probably gonna be angry at me. I saw that he still has feelings for her when he was explaining what happened yesterday... Oh man... Great, more things to worry about. What will Zack think now...? Will he wanna fight me?_

Another person came into his mind. _And what about Tifa? I still have feelings for her, I'm pretty sure of that. What will she think of all this? What will she think of... me?_

Cloud put his hand on his forehead. _All these questions... I guess the answers will come eventually._

~~~~~

Cloud looked at his watch. "9:56 AM, right on time." He stood in front of room 5M, his hand hovering in front of the door.

*Knock knock*.

Within seconds, the door unlocked and Aeris slipped out. She wore a pink sun dress that hugged her body, showing off her well-developed features. She held out a tiny red jacket at Cloud, who took it and helped her put it on.

"Hey." She gave Cloud a kiss on the lips. "So how are you today?" She gave a warm smile that made Cloud feel all warm and fuzzy inside. _Wow, this is so gay. But in the happy way more than anything._

"I'm good. And you?"

Aeris took Cloud's arm and led him down the hallway towards the stairs. "I'm great, thanks to you." She blushed lightly.

They made their way down the stairs and walked into the lobby. Cloud had a feeling that he was missing something. Checking his pocket, he stopped and turned to Aeris. "I forgot my wallet. Wait for me outside, okay?" She nodded, and Cloud took off for his room.

When Cloud got there, he noticed that Vincent had finally returned about two days ago, after being gone five. Cloud got his wallet from his drawer and made his way back to the door to leave. Vincent seemed to have just entered and was reading some important-looking papers and didn't notice Cloud had entered until he was leaving. "Cloud."

Cloud, halfway out the door, turned. "Yeah?"

"This is for you." Vincent threw a note folded in some special way into a square (as many girls seem to love doing with their notes). "I found it on the floor when I entered."

Cloud nodded. "Thanks."

Walking back out into the hall, he unfolded the little square in his hand. The handwriting on the paper was kind of messy as if it were very quickly written. The note read:

"_Hey Cloud,_

I passed by at around 9:45 to see if you were doing anything later tonight. If you aren't busy then call me at around 7PM, 555-4685. Maybe we can go see a movie.

Tifa

xoxoxo"

Cloud folded the letter back into the square and stuffed it in his pocket. _I guess I should call her later and tell her about the... umm, current circumstances. The moment of truth is approaching... She'll understand, I hope. She wouldn't have a reason to be mad at me, would she?_

~~~~~

Cloud looked at the clock. _7:27... _Cloud took the receiver and listened for a dial tone. He started to dialing... _5..5..5..4..6..8.. *click*._

Cloud wiped his forehead and put his head in his arms. _Why can't I just tell her? Why am I scared that she'll be mad? She's not the one who's my girlfriend. She's just my friend, nothing more._

Cloud felt himself react negatively to that thought. _Just a friend? She's my fucking childhood fantasy girl. _Cloud shook off the thought immediately. _No, dammit... I just got a girlfriend, and she is so much better than her. Just... stop thinking about Tifa. Just let me get this over with, dammit!_

He quickly dialed the number and heard it ring three times.

"Hello?" Tifa's soft, breathy voice rang through. Cloud gulped. _You'd think she shouldn't sound like she was trying to get people aroused..._

"Hey, it's me, Cloud. You wanted me to call you?" Cloud found himself trying to make conversation to stall before he revealed his secret.

"Oh, yeah. Well... I don't know now, actually... You see... Umm... I don't know how to tell you this but..."

Cloud thoughts ran. _Tell me what?!? You have a boyfriend now?!?!? Please, God... Let her not have one... Wait, what the fuck?_

Tifa continued through his inner dialogue. "Well... Sephiroth asked me out, and I said yes."

Cloud froze. "Sephiroth!!!!! What the fu-- umm, sorry... But, Sephiroth? I never would have figured him to--"

"Yeah, me neither actually. It came as a shock to me too. And well... I always had a crush on him, too, so I accepted. Sorry Cloud..."

"Huh, wha... Oh, don't worry... Actually, I called you to tell you that I started going out with this girl..."

Tifa seemed almost as shocked as Cloud did just before. "Oh my God!!!!! Who?!?!?!?"

"Her name's Aeris..."

"WHAT!?!?!" Tifa was incredulous. "The girl that Zack cheated on me with??? How could you, Cloud!!!!!!!"

__

Oh fuck, how could I have overlooked this... "I... I... I don't know... I'm sorry Tifa, I totally didn't realize that..."

"What do you mean? You don't pay any attention to me? You don't care! That's it, isn't it. Always the same old Cloud, just not giving a fuck about anyone besides himself!!!! Goodbye, Cloud, have fun with your new girlfriend."

"Tifa, wait, lemme expl--" _*CLICK*_

Cloud put the receiver back on the hook and lied back in his bed. _Fuck... Fuck. FUCK!!!!!! What the fuck is wrong with me!!!!!!!! God, I'm such a fucking asshole. I've never heard Tifa curse before that... Goddammit! Why did I even bother telling her... No, wait, why the fuck do I care? I have Aeris now, Tifa is in my past... But... I can't stop thinking about her..._

Cloud found himself plodding for the door. _I need to get out my mind out of this. Aeris... help me._

~~~~~

Aeris answered the door, dressed in a towel and still dripping wet. "Cloud, what're you doing here?" She was slightly irritated, but the feeling seemed to slip away as she looked at Cloud standing at her doorway in a tanktop, showing his defined, chiseled upper body. Her cheeks grew even rosier than they already where from the heat of the shower. "Umm, do you wanna come in?"

No sooner than she had said that had he took a step in the doorway, closing the door behind him. He looked at Aeris with lustful eyes, a hand reaching for the knot holding the towel up. He stood over her now, leaning in and kissing her deeply. He felt the towel begin to slip between his fingers.

Aeris pulled herself back and tied her towel again, and she said, "Cloud... stop..." Her mind had made her say those words, but her body told her anything but. Cloud seemed to not have heard or at least didn't care, as he just continued where he left off, catching her lips in his, penetrating her mouth with his tongue aggressively.

He scooped Aeris up and laid her down on the nearby bed. His hands undid the knot once again, and he pulled the towel aside slightly, revealing one of her breasts. He felt her nipple harden underneath the palm of his hand as he grasped her breast. He moved his hand down and squeezed the nipple, causing Aeris to moan in a way Cloud had never heard a girl moan before. He kissed her even more deeply. He was fully aroused, his manhood now throbbing, asking to be released from his pants.

He unzipped his pants with his free hand, slowly moving his other hand down, moving the towel aside as he inched toward bliss. Aeris suddenly yelled out, "Stop!!!"

Cloud, now utterly stunned and completely vulnerable, looked at her with a face that told her, 'You can't be serious!' She covered herself up with her towel and looked away, her face completely flushed from a mixture of embarrassment and arousal. "This... isn't right. We've only been going out for a week..."

Her expression changed to one of confusion. "Why are you doing this?"

Cloud's expression was blank, as though what he had just done hadn't registered yet. "I'm sorry Aeris. I shouldn't have done this. I... I can't explain it to you."

"What... But, you can talk to me! That's what I'm here for, Cloud..."

Cloud stood and headed for the door, ignoring her words. "I'm sorry. I'll... talk to you tomorrow. Bye." He opened the door and walked out.

"At least zip your pants up!" Aeris yelled after him. 

Aeris sat, bewildered with Cloud's sudden outburst of lust. _Cloud... What happened to you? I've never seen this side of you before... I wanted you right then, but I know that it couldn't really be you... Could it?_

~~~~~

Cloud slumped in the armchair in the left corner of his room, his head down. _Fuck... What the hell was I thinking? Nothing, that's what. I couldn't think... I just needed something to take my mind off of her..._

He felt angered with himself. _I have a girlfriend that is completely perfect, what the fuck am I doing!_ He punched the wall at his side as hard as he could, creating a slight crack. He winced in pain, rubbing his hand. _Oww, that's solid concrete... Ugh... Tifa... You could kiss it and make it feel better..._

***

"Oh my God, Cloud! Are you alright?" a ten-year-old Tifa stood over a ten-year-old Cloud. "Oh my God, your eye!" she exclaimed while she pointed at the cut over it.

Cloud sat up, dusting his shirt off, having been filled with dirt after the fight. "... I'm fine." He got up and turned away from her. "Tifa... thanks."

"Cloud!"

He faced her, and she walked towards him until they were very close. She was slightly taller than him, and he had to look up a bit to see her eye to eye.

She tilted her head up a bit and kissed him gently on the cut, then looked back down into his eyes, smiling. "There, now it'll be better in no time."

Cloud stood, rather shocked at her gesture of kindness. And, it had also been the first time he was kissed by someone besides his mom. "Th...thanks..."

"Well, umm, bye Cloud!" She winked at him before she ran off back to her friends. Cloud looked after her longingly. _Tifa..._

***

__

Dammit, I've gotta get these thoughts... these memories... out of my head. But I know that that's not gonna happen. Maybe I should just tell her how I feel and to hell with it, it's not like it'll make a difference. And I still have Aeris, so it's not like I'd be losing... am I...?

He walked over to the phone by his bed, picking it up and dialing Tifa's number. After a fair amount of rings, a drowsy voice answered the phone. "*Yawn*-ello?"

"Tifa."

"Cloud? It's 12:30 in the morning... what do you want?" She seemed rather agitated. She had definitely not forgotten their earlier phone conversation.

Cloud couldn't do it over the phone, not like this... "Umm... I'm really sorry about earlier, and I'm really sorry to bother you so late, but I really need to talk to you. Umm... tomorrow. Late in the day, after training. I'll explain everything then. You aren't gonna be... umm... 'busy', are you?" He couldn't help himself from saying 'busy' in a sarcastic tone.

"Huh *yawn*... No, I don't think so... Well, umm, okay, you can just pass by my room. It's 4H. Well, good night Cloud." She yawned again and hung up.

__

Well, tomorrow I gotta face Tifa and _Aeris. _Cloud rubbed his eyes and dived head first into the pillow, forcing himself to go to sleep before anything else came into his head.

~~~~~

"You cocksucking bastard!!!!!" Zack pushed Cloud from behind into a locker. "You know how I feel about Aeris! How the fuck can you do this!?! What the fuck kind of friend are you!?!?!" He grabbed the back of Cloud's neck and flung him back and onto the floor.

"Dammit, what the hell was I supposed to do Zack? It's not my fault that I like her too! She was the one that came onto me!!!" Cloud got up before Zack could attack him while he was on the ground and vulnerable. "Besides, don't you have that girl that I saw you with at the restaurant last week?"

Zack, still fuming, yelled, "So fucking what!?! She's just some cute girl, it's not like she means anything to me!"

"So you're just using her, huh?"

"So what! Who are you to tell me about what to do with women..." Zack had calmed down. _Shit... I've just been using Yuffie and I didn't realize it. What has gone wrong with me..._ "Look, Cloud... I'm sorry man."

Cloud shook his head. "Don't worry, I would be just as pissed as you, if not even more, if something like this happened to me."

Zack extended his hand out to Cloud, who took it immediately. Zack said, "Alright, let's not do this anymore... We've been too good of friends to hate each other now." Cloud nodded in agreement. "We might as well talk to each other about this stuff... It's not like I'm the best with girls. I need all the advice I can get."

They both laughed and continued into the sparring arena.

"Cloud Strife and Keith Turley," Hojo said coolly. He motioned towards the mats, indicating that they were the first ones up today. Cloud had not lost a match after the first one against Sephiroth. Sephiroth had wiped the floor with everyone who faced him, nobody even able to touch him. Cloud's opponent today had lost just twice, once to Zack the session before, and the first day against one of the top fighters there named Reno.

They both stepped onto the mats, doing their routine stretching and mental preparation. Keith had two metal nuchaku, which he handled with great ease. Cloud performed a few katas with his Buster Sword, demonstrating his proficiency with it. _I still have a long way to go before I master it, though..._

"Begin!"

Cloud wasted no time in his attack, dashing at Keith sword-first. Keith dodged and deftly struck Cloud in the back of the head with one of his nuchaku. Cloud staggered forward a bit before quickly recovering. He spun back to face Keith with his sword out, narrowly missing Keith. Keith had shown that he had tremendous speed in his previous matches, but he surprised everyone as he got behind Cloud with lightning-fast dexterity. He flailed his nuchaku on him, sending Cloud into a world of pain. Cloud fell to his knees.

__

Fuck, this guy's too fast! I have to-- Before Cloud could finish his thought, Keith pounced on his back, causing Cloud's arms to buckle under him and sent him crashing to the floor. Keith, still on his back, started punching him in his sides, knocking Cloud's wind out of him. Keith grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, sending shockwaves of pain through Cloud.

__

Ugh... Shit, this fucking pain... Just... "GET THE FUCK OFF ME!!!!!!" Cloud screamed, and a sudden rush of energy filled Cloud. He pushed himself and Keith, who was still on his back, up. He used his arms and legs to launch them both into the air, where Cloud grabbed onto Keith's arms so he couldn't get away. Cloud spun them both around so that Keith was now under him. They landed, and Keith cried out in pain. Cloud felt a few things crack under him. 

He got off Keith and stood over him as he futilely attempted to get up. Cloud jumped in the air, holding his sword over his head, and channeled his energy into the sword.

He came down on Keith, slicing him cleanly into two hemispheres.

Some of the people hooted. "Yeah Cloud!!!" screamed Zack. Sephiroth smirked. Others were sickened, even if it wasn't the first time something like that had happened before. Cloud watched as Hojo dropped the Phoenix Down on one half of Keith. Both halves where engulfed in a bright orange-red energy, which converged into one big lump of energy. It shaped itself into Keith's body, and slowly the energy faded away. Keith lied on the ground, still unconscious. Cloud always found it amazing when it happened because it seemed so surreal.

~~~~~

"Yo Cloud, that was totally fuckin' awesome!"

"Zack, I'm trying to take a shower."

Cloud finished up, and Zack immediately starting praising him. "That was totally sweet, dude. You've got a lot of talent with that sword. What was that technique you used? There was this orange glow surrounding you, it was amazing!"

__

Huh? "I don't know what it was, I just felt a lot of energy within me... I felt enraged, like I was pushed over the edge." Cloud scratched his head. "Orange energy? I think I've heard stuff about that, I think it's called a--"

"Limit break," Zack cut him off. "I heard Hojo mumbling something about that after your fight, he was scribbling really fast on his clipboard. He was giggling so hard, I thought he was gonna piss his pants." He laughed heartily.

He offered his hand. "Good job on your match."

Cloud shook it. "Yeah, you did pretty good in your match too. That Rude guy is tough."

"Yeah, hehe, but it was nothing. He almost had me for a second there, but I got him in the end, no sweat." Zack waved his hand and smirked. "Yeah, 'cause I'm awesome like that." Cloud rolled his eyes. "Hey man, I was just kidding!" Zack reassured him.

Cloud shrugged. "Whatever."

They finished getting dressed and gathered their things in relative silence. Then, suddenly Zack asked, "So... how is Aeris doing?"

Cloud gave him a questioning look, as if trying to see if their was something he was trying to get at. "She's fine..." Cloud thought for a moment. "Why do you ask?" he asked outright.

Zack answered innocently, "I was just wondering. There's no harm in caring about her, right?" He walked off as if nothing strange had just happened. _Well, nothing strange really did happen. He has reason... I still has feelings for her too, so it shouldn't surprise me that he would want to know what she's doing, _Cloud thought.

__

Whatever, I've got other things to worry about. Cloud left the building, heading for the dorms.

~~~~~

Aeris snuck up behind Cloud as he exited the gymnasium and poked him in his side, where he was ticklish. He flinched and turned around to face his 'assailant' and saw that it was just his lovely girlfriend. "Oh, hey Aeris. Thanks for scaring the hell out of me," he greeted sarcastically.

She smiled at him and gave him a light tap on the lips. "Hey, love." She had taken a liking to calling him that. "So love, how was training today?"

Cloud grinned toothily. "I cut this guy in half." Aeris cringed.

"That's disgusting, you know." She smacked him on the arm. "Don't do that to people, it's mean!"

"But, if I don't, they'll do it to me!" Cloud pleaded.

He put his arm around Aeris's waist as they walked down towards the dorms. The sun was setting in the distance horizon as he had seen it so many times before. _The same as back home... The same as that last sunset before I ran from Nibelheim... When I threw the letter through Tifa's window... The letter! How could I forget? She never mentioned it... She had to have read it though, I know she did! So she'll know..._

"What's wrong, Cloud?" Aeris eyed him scrupulously, as though trying to read his mind. "What are you thinking about? Is it... what happened last night...?" She moved a little away from Cloud so that he has to remove his arm from around her. She stopped, and Cloud turned to her. "Cloud... about that..."

"Aeris, I'm so sorry about that. I was just... I don't know how to say this but... Umm..." Cloud had been waiting for this all day, but now he couldn't bring himself to say the truth. _I'm not ready, dammit! But... I can't think of anything else to say... There's no backing out now._

Aeris looked into Cloud's eyes, her face unreadable. Cloud held his breath and said, "Aeris, I have to tell you the truth. There's this other girl that I have feelings for. I'm sorry." He saw Aeris's expression fall into a look of confusion, which slowly evolved into a look of disappointment.

"What... what do you mean?" Aeris's voice wavered as if she was about to cry. Cloud took Aeris's face in his hands, looking straight into her eyes. Aeris, in turn, looked right back into his. She saw something different in them... Before they were a beautiful shade of blue, but now they seemed to be an endless ocean of sapphire, glowing like precious stones.

"Listen to me Aeris. I don't want to lose you. I have feelings for you too. But the thing is... right now, I don't know what I really want. So... can you just bare with me for now?" He continued staring into Aeris's emerald eyes, with Aeris entranced by his own deep blue glowing pools.

She snapped out of it. "Huh? Yeah... yes... It's okay, Cloud. You need to find yourself first." There was an undertone of sadness and disappointment in her voice, but they both knew that it would be for the best. "Whatever happens, happens. But... remember that I'll be waiting for you, Cloud." She gave him a kiss, clinging to his lips for a few seconds, getting a last taste, just in case.

~~~~~

*Knock knock*.

"Who is it?" She didn't need to ask. _It's Cloud, I know it. I knew he was coming, but I still don't know what he wants to talk to me about. And if it's about that, then... I don't think I'm ready..._

"Tifa, it's me, Cloud," Cloud answered.

Tifa unlocked the door and paused for a moment before she opened it and allowed him in. She smiled as he walked in and greeted, "Hey Cloud, what's up?" She tried to sound as unconcerned as possible.

"Hello, Tifa. I, uhh... I really have to talk to you... about..." Cloud's resolve was irresolute after seeing her be so nonchalant. "Well, first off, I'm really sorry about not saying anything about going out with Aeris, but it was really this spur of the moment thing and--"

"Don't worry about it Cloud," she cut him off. "It's okay, I understand. I can't expect you to not like some girl on account of me. And besides, I have Sephy now." She smiled meekly and put her arms around her. _I hope this is working... I can't talk to him about the letter now... I'm not even sure how I feel, _she thought.

Cloud put his hand on his forehead. _Dammit, I knew this would be useless... Well, whatever, I have to get this out now._ "Well, I really wanted to talk to you about something else... You see, I... I..."

__

No, he's going to ask me... no... "Cloud, you don't have to do this now," she pleaded. She didn't care whether he knew that she knew what he wanted to know, she just needed to stall him no matter what.

"No Tifa, I have to. You read the letter I wrote to you before I left, right...?"

Tifa sighed inwardly, knowing that she couldn't lie to him now. "I... yes. I read it."

Cloud hesitated a bit, as if he expected Tifa to say something more, before he finally spoke. "Tifa... everything I said there was true. It's words still hold true to this day. You remember what it said, don't you?"

Tifa, remaining silent, walked over to the night table nearby her bed and opened the bottom drawer. She pulled out a tattered paper turned yellow from age. Cloud had a definite look of surprise on his face. "You... you kept it all this time?" Tifa's auburn eyes were on the verge of breaking into tears. Cloud looked into them, on the verge of breaking down into tears as well.

He felt himself recalling the words he wrote on the paper, and he recited them from memory.

"Dear Tifa,

Before I leave here, I want to make my feelings known. I have only caught glimpses of your beauty from afar, and I have always wanted to get to know you, but I know that now that is not possible. However, I want you to know how I've always felt about you. Tifa, for as long as I can remember, I've had a crush on you. I always watched you, admiring you.

But after a while, it wasn't just a crush anymore. I couldn't think about anything else but you. I didn't even want you to love me, I just wanted you to be my friend. I would have been happy with that.

But now, that would be impossible. I have taken enough from everyone, and now I'm leaving. I'm sorry that I never had the courage to talk to you.

I just wanted you to know that... I love you.

Good bye.

Cloud"

Tifa was full-out crying now, her face buried in her hands. Cloud walked over to her and embraced her firmly. He spoke softly into her ear, "Tifa... it's all true... I never realized it before until someone else had taken you, I thought that my feelings had died away... But... I love you, Tifa... I love you."

Tifa managed to breathe out between sobs, "I... I... I don't know... I don't know how I feel Cloud..." She pushed Cloud off softly, her crying now calming down. "I've always liked you too Cloud, but I was afraid too... I didn't know anything about you... But then, I always liked Sephiroth too, and now I know he likes me back. I... I don't know where my heart stands right now. I need more time Cloud, please give me more time..."

Cloud sat, head bowed in defeat. _I've always known she liked Sephiroth... How could I think that she would pick me over him? How can I beat someone like Sephiroth...? Just... forget this. _"Just... Whatever, go to Sephiroth. He's better than me anyway. Bye, Tifa..." He got up and headed for the door.

Tifa wanted to stop him, but she couldn't think of anything to say. "Cloud..."

~~~~~

Cloud walked around the campus. Bathed in moonlight, everything seemed pale. The serenity of his surroundings completely contrasted the turmoil of his emotions.

__

What have I done... Why did I even bother to do that? I won't be able to face her again, now that she knows the truth. That thought made something burn inside him. _Why wouldn't I be able to face her again? Why am I so ashamed of my feelings? I hate this! _He punched a nearby tree, causing it to shudder violently.

"Hmm...?"

Cloud turned around and stood face to face with a towering, silver-haired figure. "Sephiroth."

"What's wrong, Cloud?" he asked. "Did something happen between you and Aeris?" he mused. He had a slight smile on his face that made Cloud feel comforted for some reason. Even though it was Sephiroth who was the one in the way of Tifa's heart, he found that he had no resentment towards him.

"I guess you could say that..." Cloud couldn't tell him exactly what it was that happened for the obvious reason that he was, in reality, trying to steal his girlfriend. "Everything is so confusing. I can't even figure myself out!" Cloud felt anger rise within him.

Sephiroth turned away from him and said coolly, "Don't worry. Everything will make sense in due time..."

~*~*~*~

A/N: Well, _that _was a really freaking long chapter. I hope you liked it. I'm actually fairly happy with it, especially the end of it. I thought at first that Cloud suddenly having these strong feelings for Tifa while he was with Aeris was unrealistic, but then I remembered that something similar happened to me. ^_^;;

Thank you Ah-choo and Advil Relief for reviewing both of the first two chapters! ::gives you both a cookie each:: And thanks, Kiriyama90, for being overly dramatic. You know I know who you are. =P

Also, I think I'm gonna start spotlighting characters besides Cloud, possibly as soon as next chapter. I didn't really intend for Cloud to be the center of attention so freaking heavily. =\ And expect more Vincent and Yuffie next chapter! ^_^


	4. The White Rose

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.

Midgar University

Chapter 4 - The White Rose

~*~*~*~

Vincent sat in the big, stadium-seating-style lecture hall, doodling mindlessly in his notebook as the professor below yammered on about some retarded theory about materia that he had no interest in whatsoever. _It's only been a month since the major classes started and I'm already bored to tears. How utterly surprising, _he thought sarcastically.

He seemed to not notice how sadistic the pictures he drew were until he noticed the girl sitting next to him staring at them in horror and disgust. He laughed inwardly. _Figures, such a girl could never appreciate such art. _He took a quick glance at her. _Hmm, she's Wutaian... That's always a plus. But she has short hair, definitely not my type. She's cute, though..._

Again, Vincent laughed inwardly. _If any of the other Turks knew that I thought of such things, they'd probably die of a heart attack. Perhaps it's a fault of mine that I keep so many things to myself..._

A few rows up, Cloud and Aeris sat talking amongst themselves, playing with each other's hands. "God, this is so boring... I learned this stuff in like, fourth grade," whispered Cloud in discontent.

"Don't worry, sweety, there's only 15 minutes left." Aeris brought Cloud's hand to her lips. Cloud smiled at her, wishing he could kiss her right then.

He turned back towards the professor. He began to think about the past month. _Hmm... So things just went on with Aeris like nothing happened... It was awkward for like a week, but now here we are. And Sephiroth and Tifa are happy together as well, it seems. I've been able to put my feelings for Tifa behind me. I never thought it would be possible, but Aeris is so... amazing. _He glanced at her again, looking over her face. Her eyes were slowly closing as she was falling asleep.

__

So beautiful... She's such a nice person too. She even became friends with Tifa after sitting near her in different classes and lectures. She has such a good heart.

Cloud sighed. _I guess I really _am _in love with her._

He saw the bottom rows begin to stand up and leave. He nudged Aeris on the arm to wake her up. "Hey, it's time to go."

She yawned a stretched a bit, and then flashed a groggy smile at Cloud. "Carry me, Cloud." Cloud gave her a sarcastic smile, and then, suddenly and surprisingly, he actually lifted Aeris in his arms and carried her down the stairs and out the lecture hall.

~~~~~

"Tifa."

She turned around. "Sephiroth! What's up?" She came up to him and tiptoed to give him a kiss. She noticed that he had his hands behind his back.

He grinned. "I have something for you." He pulled out from behind his back a bouquet of a dozen red roses, with a single white one in the middle.

"Oh my God, Sephiroth, they're beautiful!" She kissed him again, much more passionately this time, and then took the flowers and examined them. "They're so beautifully arranged..."

"I actually arranged them myself. Back in Nibelheim, my foster mother taught me a lot about flowers and arranging them. I thought you'd really like it." He smiled again as she threw her arms around him.

"Sephiroth, you are the best!" She clung to him for a while until Sephiroth tried to move away a bit.

"Umm... the white rose in the middle... Just... Don't let anything happen to it." Sephiroth's voice seemed to have a slight undertone of concern... or was it... fear?

Tifa looked at him inquiringly. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of them... But... why do you ask that?"

Sephiroth scratched his head and said reassuringly, "Oh, don't worry. It's nothing, I just really like white roses." It wasn't a complete lie, as he loved white roses more than any other flower in the world. However, he didn't tell her about his 'gut feeling'.

Tifa, apparently satisfied with his reasoning, smiled and said, "Oh, okay. Don't worry about it. I'll cherish it forever. I'll guard it with my life," she added humorously.

Sephiroth smiled, hiding the uncertainty within him.

~~~~~

Training was really becoming a burden for all the freshman candidates now, since classes had finally started, and they haven't really adjusted to living in a college environment. It especially hit Cloud hard. In a situation where time management was an essential virtue, he thought was sure to fail. _Dammit, I have to deal with all this bullshit Combat Theory essay stuff and then deal with all this training... It's too hard. How the hell am I supposed to make time for all that _and _sleep?!? Maybe coming to this school was a mistake..._

He shook off the thought and concentrated on his weight-lifting, as the 400 pounds he was bench-pressing was already starting to wear him down after just 53 repetitions. _Dammit... 47 more to go... 46... 45..._

"Yo, how's it going Cloud!" Zack walked up next to his bench, his abrupt distraction nearly causing Cloud to drop the barbell.

"Dammit Zack, not now! I'm trying to concentrate here!" Cloud continued on, ignoring Zack, who was trying to check out how much weight he was lifting.

"Hmm, 400 pounds? I've been doing 450 for two sessions now. You gotta pick up the slack, Strife!" he mocked. He finally left Cloud after he apparently ignored him.

After finishing up, he made his way out to the sparring arena, which was nearly full already. Cloud hadn't lost since his first match against Sephiroth. He was lucky though, since he had yet to face any of the top fighters yet. He checked the list on the wall next to the entrance to the arena, which listed the win-loss records and the rankings for all the candidates. Their rankings were based not only on their win-loss records, but their general performance and efficiency as well.

__

So Sephiroth is still first, undefeated of course, 16-0. Zack was second at 14-2, he lost to, umm... Tseng and the President's son, I think... Then there's me, 15-1. Apparently I'm not as efficient as Zack... Whatever.

Hojo cleared his throat and spoke with his familiar 'mad scientist' accent. "The first match today will be Reno Jacobs against Rodney 'Rude' Marshall." Several people started talking amongst themselves, excitement building up. The two were ranked 6th and 7th, respectively. It would surely be an interesting fight, as both were very good friends.

Reno was a sneaky, fast kind of fighter that wasn't hesitant to use cheap tactics to win. Rude was very strong and quick with his fists, but not with his feet. Rude was definitely more talented physically, but after fighting so long, you realize that physical ability isn't everything. _If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Reno, definitely, _Cloud thought.

As soon as Hojo said, "Go!" they both jumped to opposite ends of the mat, as far away from each other as possible. Rude took his ready stance, putting his two fists up near his face, jumping up and down. Reno wielded his short metal rod, little bolts of electricity jumping from its end.

Rude dashed directly at Reno, who saw him coming easily, but he feinted right at the last moment, causing Reno to drop his guard momentarily. Rude struck hard, his straight right connecting with Reno's ribs. Reno was nearly toppled by the force of the blow, but managed to stay on his feet. Rude advanced to follow up, but instead Reno was the one who did the damage, jabbing his shock stick into Rude's abdomen. He winced, but recovered quickly.

Even still, Reno was much too fast for Rude, and he jabbed at Rude from every direction with his rod. The smell of the burns was starting to reach the audience, many of whom stuck their noses down their shirts. Rude stayed hunched over on the ground, unmoving.

Reno walked over next to him to strike him down once and for all, when Rude suddenly swept his right leg around and connected with Reno's right left shin, causing it to break swiftly into two. Reno's leg buckled, and he fell to the ground screaming in terrible pain. Rude quickly jumped on top of him, bashing his fists into Reno's face, breaking his nose and jaw easily. He then grabbed Reno's throat and clamped down as hard as he could. Rude thought he had the match won when suddenly he felt a sharp stab of pain in his rib. He jerked to the side, allowing Reno to get out from under him. Rude fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

Reno stood, his face bloodied and his mouth hanging open. He watched as Rude slowly died, his rod jutting from Rude's side. Blood seeped from Rude's mouth and ears. Red tears ran down his face. Before long, all the life had been drained from him. Reno walked away from the ring, and although he was unable to with his mouth, the smile could be seen in his eyes.

~~~~~

Cloud stood at the end of the mat opposite a tall, golden-blonde haired young man. _Rufus Shinra, the President's prodigal son... This should be interesting. _Rufus wielded a double-barreled shotgun, fully loaded with explosive rounds. He was definitely Cloud's most difficult thus far in the year. He was ranked 4th, right behind Cloud, having lost only to Sephiroth and Rude. _He even beat Zack..._ Cloud worried.

Rufus fired a shot right off at Cloud as soon as the match began before Cloud could even pull out his sword, but Cloud wisely chose to run to the side as soon as the match began. _I can't stop for one second... I can't let him get a good shot off at me..._

Rufus kept shooting relentlessly, getting annoyed at missing so much. _Dammit, this guy's fast. He's good, yes._ He continued firing away, keeping Cloud away from him.

__

Why the hell hasn't he ran out of bullets?!? Cloud thought as he ran from the torrent of shells fired at him. He had managed to dodge everything without a scratch so far, as Rufus wasn't all that good of a shot. _He must be using Mako shells... Which means the bullets aren't all that powerful. I think I could take a few of them..._

Cloud dashed around, inching in closer and closer to Rufus. Rufus noticed what was happening and stopped firing. He pulled out a round object from his belt, pulling something off it, and he threw it at Cloud.

__

What the... grenade!!!! Cloud ran as far as he could from the grenade. A few seconds later, he heard a loud 'BANG' behind him. He turned around, only to find a bullet piercing threw his stomach. He felt his insides being torn apart as the bullet passed through him, exiting through his back. There was nothing for a moment, and then, just like that, blood gushed out through both holes. Cloud covered the bullet hole in front with his palm for a few moments and then realized that there was no pain. _No pain... only anger..._

Cloud felt a rush of energy flow through him, making him completely forget he was wounded. He dashed at Rufus, who unloaded on Cloud. Cloud was getting hit everywhere; in his chest, in his arms, in his legs. However, nothing could stop him. Before Rufus could do anything about it, Cloud grabbed Rufus by the head threw him across the mat. He pulled out his sword and ran at Rufus as he was still flying through the air. He jumped up over Rufus and came down on him, spearing him with his sword.

Rufus lay on the floor, Cloud on top of him. He looked up and met with Cloud's eyes for one last moment. His own eyes flashed an expression of complete shock. Then, blackness overcame him.

~~~~~

Zack stood, with a falsely confident smile, opposite his towering, silver-haired opponent. Sephiroth held his massive blade at his side, every muscle in his body completely loose. Zack was much more tense, standing with his blade grasped in both hands.

Hojo beckoned for the match to begin. "Alright Zack, let's see if _you_ willbe the one to defeat my son..." He cackled in his sick, twisted sense of humor. "Well, fight already!"

Zack immediately dashed at Sephiroth, who still had his sword at his side, and swung for his head. Sephiroth, with a move so quick that it was nearly impossible to follow, ducked and took a swing at Zack's waist. The blade impacted smoothly into Zack's side, not stopping until it had cut Zack completely in half. The upper half of his body fell to the floor, while his lower half stood unmoving, as if the hit still hadn't registered.

Zack, somehow still conscious, didn't realize what had happened until Sephiroth stood beside him, his Masamune aimed downward at him. He took a glance to where his legs should be. He let out a blood-curdling scream, both out of horror and pain.

Sephiroth plunged the Masamune's tip into Zack's forehead, instantly putting Zack out of his misery.

Sephiroth looked directly at Cloud, something strange in the look of his eyes. It sent shivers up and down his spine. Sephiroth pulled his sword out of Zack's head and turned away, wiping his sword off with a gloved hand.

Cloud looked on in disbelief. _Zack... is... one of the best fighters here... and Sephiroth did _that _to him... This is just... _wrong. _Sephiroth... your eyes... Something is terribly wrong here..._

~~~~~

"Hey, honey!" Aeris ran over to Cloud and planted a kiss on his lips before he could even notice she was waiting for him.

"Whoa... Hey Aeris." He smiled down at Aeris, who was holding on to him by his waist, looking back up at him. He decided not to tell her about Sephiroth's look, as it might worry her. It didn't matter anyway, because she seemed to be entranced by... something. _My eyes..._

Almost as if she read his mind, she said, "Cloud... I asked you about it before but... Have your eyes always glowed like that?" She stared into them, and it felt like they were looking into her mind.

Cloud blinked, which threw off Aeris's concentration. "Oh... It's a side effect of part of the SOLDIER training. We were showered in Mako the first week, which causes our eyes to glow like that. You... like it?"

"Oh, yes... They're beautiful..." _I think they're the most beautiful things I've ever seen... Two big sapphires peering into my soul... _She couldn't help herself from getting lost in his eyes again. She felt herself go numb, drifting into a daydream-like state.

She saw the eyes seemingly grow larger and larger... deeper and deeper... She was brought back to reality by the touch of Cloud's lips on her own. He pulled back and said, "Come on, you're giving me the willies." 

Aeris giggled. "Heehee... Sorry about that. Well, let's go back to our dorms." They walked off, arm in arm.

~~~~~

"Come on, Vinny! What's taking you so long!!"

__

Ugh, why did I have to leave my damn book in that God-forsaken classroom... What the hell possessed me to actually agree to go out with her...? "Be patient," he told the short brunette waiting for him while he was in the bathroom. "And don't call me Vinny."

"Yeah, whatever." She observed her surroundings. "Wow, your room is really neat and tidy... Are you sure you're not gay?"

Vincent stuck his head out of the bathroom, a look of shock and anger mixed in his face. "Listen Yuffie... If I were gay, _I_ would have been the one hitting on _you_." He grinned, seeing how she didn't get it. He went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

"What!!!" Yuffie finally replied after a few minutes. "Just because I have short hair doesn't mean I look like a guy!"

Vincent laughed inwardly. _Haha... so childish... _A few minutes later, he finally stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed in black jeans, a button-down shirt with a tanktop under it, and his wet hair down, covering partially covering his eyes.

"That was mean, _Vinny_..." She smirked a bit, but Vincent noticed that she actually seemed a bit hurt.

Vincent turned towards the door. "Look, I'm sorry. I was only kidding. So, just forget about it and let's get going." He walked out the door and held it for Yuffie to pass through. As she passed by, she gave him a quick jab in his side, knocking the wind out of him. She laughed and ran down the stairs, leaving him behind.

He quickly regained his breath, but a sharp pain in his side remained. _Heh... childish _and _rough..._

~~~~~

"Tifa... I'm sorry, but it's for the best."

"But why!!!! Everything has been great, why are you doing this to us now so suddenly?!?" Tifa cried out to Sephiroth, who stood with his back turned to her. She said more quietly, "What is it... is there someone else?" Tears were streaming down her face at that point freely.

Sephiroth stood silently for a moment, strange thoughts flooding into his head. "I... I guess you can say that. I'm sorry, but I must go." He started to walk out the door, but turned back for a moment. His emerald eyes pleaded for Tifa's forgiveness, but she looked away. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Tifa... I can't explain why, but just... please find it in your heart to forgive me." He turned back and walked out the door, letting it slam behind him.

Tifa fell onto her bed, her face buried in her hands. She couldn't help but cry. _Why Sephiroth? I really liked you, I treated you better than any guy I've ever met before you... Maybe it's because I didn't get intimate enough with you...? No, I know you respect my limits... But... Why? Things were getting better by the day, and now you just shatter everything we had! _She sobbed even harder than before. _I don't understand... You didn't seem like yourself..._

Her tears seemed to die down at that thought. _You... you weren't yourself. Your eyes were different... not Sephiroth's eyes. Something was behind those eyes... Except, when he looked back at me, that was him. But before that, it was like as if someone else completely different was controlling him... Possessing him..._ _What could it be?_

She flung her arms out in defeat before burying her face in her hands again. _Oh, whatever, I'm just making excuses for myself! I'm so pathetic... I mean, we only went out for a month... Why the hell do I feel like this? Sephiroth was just an old childhood crush. It's just so... disappointing, I guess. But... I still have feelings for him... Ugh! _She laid back on her bed, shutting her eyes and forcing herself to sleep.

Unknown to her, the white rose in the vase beside her bed slowly started to wither away...

~*~*~*~

A/N: Hey... Sorry about the _major _delay in finishing this chapter. There's been a lot of personal matters deterring me from finishing this chapter, as well as major writer's block preventing me from even _beginning_ the chapter. =\ So, if you think this chapter is fucked up in any way, well, I'm really sorry. I've been under a lot of stress lately (which is funny, because school hasn't even started for me yet). I promise the next chapter will be better!! ...I hope. ^_^;;

I personally think the chapter was total crap, which is _especially_ nota good thing this chapter since the main plot is finally being introduced. Also, it's like half the length of the last chapter. However, I don't want to delay the chapter any longer, so I'm just posting it like this. Maybe I'll fix it at some later date, who knows, lol.

Also, I hope to put up the next chapter a lot quicker than it took me to put up this one. Of course, I can't promise that, because, well, who knows. All I'm asking is that all my (very few) fans, have faith in me! =)

Please review!!!!


	5. Dissonance

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters.

Midgar University

Chapter 5 - Dissonance

~*~*~*~

Cloud and Aeris strolled through the small, quaint town of Kalm nearby the university's campus, enjoying a kind of serenity that was nonexistent almost anywhere else. In this town, everyone seemed to mind their own business, enjoying themselves in whatever way they could without the worry of having people get in the way.

"This would be a great place to settle down after retiring," said Aeris, trying initiate conversation. Cloud nodded, silently admiring the atmosphere. It was a very plain town, with nothing standing out in it except for the small Mako reactor right in the center. It was very quaint and modest, emitting a subtle beauty to those who cared to pay attention to it. For Cloud, it was a welcome, yet somewhat painful, reminder of his hometown. He closed his eyes, feeling the cool breeze brush over his face.

***

He held his eyes closed for a few moments, the cold air licking at his face. He opened his eyes, staring back down at the tiny town. Everything seemed so small from where he sat. His feet where over the mountain's edge, where he sat fearlessly, absorbed in thought. _This is the last time I'll ever see this town from here..._

He leaned back, looking up to the orange-red hues of sundown, taking in every last detail. _Not that I need to, this sky has never changed... I guess some things never do._ Looking back at the town, he reminisced about his earliest ventures up the mountain.

__

I was just eight years old... I got yelled at by Mom, I don't even remember why... so I ran... And I ran towards the mountain, and before I knew it, I was climbing it. My hands and knees got all scarred, but I didn't care... I was just pissed. I wanted to get away, I wanted to be left alone. I liked it up there... It was a quiet, cold place. A place where no one would ever think of going... A place no one would ever try to follow me. No one ordinary, at least...

But, who would have guessed... Following right behind me...

I turned around abruptly, and I saw her. My heart jumped and skipped a few beats. I can still picture her visage clearly in my mind... Her long, dark brown hair billowed in the biting wind. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes were tearing from the strong gusts of wind. She was shaking out of the cold and out of something else... It wasn't fear, it was concern. She looked straight at me, and with a clear, strong, high-pitched voice, she said, "C'mon Cloud! You know you're not supposed to be up here! All the grown-ups say it's dangerous!"

At that moment, I was furious with Tifa. I had thought she come to comfort me, when instead, she came to reprimand me. Or, at least that was how I saw it. "Go away! I don't need anyone to protect me! Just go back home!" I yelled back. I saw her advance towards me. I got up and ran away from her, crossing over the rope bridge between the two nearest mountains. I didn't notice that she was running after me, keeping up with my pace.

"Cloud, wait!" she screamed. I thought for a moment, 'Maybe this isn't such a great idea...' Right then, I heard something snap. I turned around and ran towards Tifa just as the bridge's other rope was about to snap. I grabbed Tifa just as we began to fall, holding her above me so that I could use my body to break her fall.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on a flat, solid rock surface, with two angry adult faces staring down at me. One face with Tifa's eyes yelled, "Dammit, you fucking idiot! What the fuck did you think you were doing, bringing my daughter out here!!!! You're lucky she's still alive..." He turned and walked away, an unconscious young girl slung over his shoulder, as the other man cast a Cure 2 spell on me.

Cloud looked over to the new, studier, wooden bridge put in place about a year ago. _A new bridge... A new path... That's what I'm searching for. A new path._

***

The memory rung in Cloud's head, his words washing over him once again. _Have I found that path...? Is this what I've been looking for?_

He glanced over to Aeris by his side, who walked along merrily whistling a sweet melody. He smiled. _I think I have..._

~~~~~

"Ugh, why did I even bother."

Vincent stood up, putting his napkin on the table. Yuffie stood up as well, looking to be on the verge of tears. "No, Vinny, I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to bring him up, honest!"

Vincent turned his face away from her. "It doesn't matter... It's just that it's obvious that you aren't over him," he said. Then, as an insult to injury, he added, "Just go back to him, I don't have the time for this." He dropped 500 gil on the table and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Yuffie with brimming tears in her eyes. Without thinking, she ran out after him.

"Vincent, I'm sorry! Slow down! Dammit... you asshole!!! You don't just walk out on a date!!!!" she yelled at him.

He stopped. She stopped as well, a few feet from him. She held her head down, tears falling freely from her eyes now. "So what if I'm not over Zack yet! How do you expect me to get over him?!?!" She sniffed and added, "You're such an asshole, you know that...? You're probably just... some freak who can't get any, anyway..."

Vincent, who had his back turned to Yuffie, seemed to stiffen. When he spoke, his voice came out even deeper than normal. In almost a whisper, he said, "Maybe I am... Just... maybe I am." He felt a surge of anger overcome him, and he started to run back in the direction of the University.

"Hey, what the hell! What's gotten into you..." Yuffie trailed off as she watched him dash away from her at an incredible speed.

~~~~~

Cloud sat on his bed reading a video gaming magazine.

*BOOM!*

Vincent stormed over to his bed, throwing his shoe at the night table nearby. Cloud, who hadn't even heard Vincent enter the room, had fallen off the bed when he slammed the door. He saw that Vincent's face was red with anger. His normally scarlet eyes seemed to be a more intense shade of blood-like red. _Something is definitely not right with him, _Cloud thought.

"Hey Vincent, what happened...?" Cloud was uncertain what, if anything, he should do. Vincent sat, now seemingly just sulking in the corner of the room. _Okay, good, the rage seems to be gone... I suppose this would be the best time to approach him..._

"Hey dude, are you alright?" Cloud walked over next to Vincent. He looked down at him, getting a clear shot of his face. _What the fuck?!?!?!_

Vincent's face had become twisted, almost as if it were _transforming_. His breathing became ragged, and his skin changed to ghastly white color. Cloud backed away, unsure of what he should do. "Uhh... Vincent...?"

Suddenly, Vincent bolted straight up off the bed and ran out of the dorm, slamming the door shut behind him. Cloud thought about running after him, but in the end opted not to. _I mean, c'mon, he looked like he could _kill _someone..._

Before Cloud could even sit down to rest, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," answered Cloud as he sat down on his bed. A small, huddled figure wrapped in an oversized, black, leather coat slipped in the door and closed it. "Cloud... I'm sorry to bother you but... I... I don't know who else to come to..." The figure removed the coat and dropped it on the unoccupied bed nearby.

Cloud restrained his shock and said, "Hey Tifa, what's wrong...?"

He studied her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were flushed. "Tifa, what happened... Why were you crying...?" He paused for a moment before deciding to ask, "Is it something with Sephiroth?" Tifa let out another sob.

"Oh, I'm sorry!!" Cloud stood up and wrapped his arms around her, hopefully comforting her. He felt her nestle her head into his neck, feeling her short, raspy breaths on his chest. He felt the hairs on his back stand on end at such a sensation. He stroked her hair gently with one hand and rubbed her back with his other. Tifa's sobbing ceased after a few moments.

She whispered, "Sephiroth gave me a bouquet of flowers in the afternoon yesterday..." She continued, raising her voice a little, "And then in the evening, he stopped by my dorm, and he dumped me right there... H-how could he... Everything was going fine... Maybe I'm just not good enough... But how _can _I be... He's just so _fucking _perfect..."

__

Perfect. The word ran through Cloud's head as he looked down at Tifa in his arms. _Her touch, her warmth... Her scent... She is just so _perfect_. God, I want her so bad..._ Cloud brought his head down a little and whispered into her ear, "Tifa... I..." She pulled herself out of his embrace and brought her finger up to his mouth, shushing him effectively. She pulled her hand away and brought her face closer to him. She closed her eyes, bringing her lips to his. Cloud felt himself close his eyes and get pulled into her lips... _Her taste... Her essence... her perfection..._

They unconsciously moved over on top of the bed. Cloud lay back while Tifa moved over him, deepening their kiss. They lost themselves in that moment, completely unaware of their surroundings.

*Click.*

"Oh, hi Cloud, I was just--" Aeris dropped the glass picture-frame, which shattered on impact with the floor.

Cloud, hearing the crash, pushed Tifa off of him and saw Aeris standing at the doorway, her mouth covered by her hands. Her eyes welled up with tears. She stared directly at him, her gaze unwavering.

Her emerald eyes pierced his heart. She turned and took off, not looking back once.

Tifa had a look of shock on her face as she turned to Cloud. "Cloud, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, and I--"

"Just get out. Now." Cloud stared down at the floor, his back to Tifa. Knowing better than to say anything, she exited quietly.

Cloud fell onto his bed face first, burying his head into his pillow, allowing his tears to flow. The pain had finally become to great. He had always managed to stifle his tears in the past, but for the first time in his life, he openly cried.

~~~~~

'Perfect, everything is going according to plan...'

__

What is your game, you wretch!

'Oh, is that any way to speak to your _mother_...?'

__

I don't care! Just tell me... You've already made me break Tifa's heart, and now you've broken Aeris's and Cloud's. But... why?

'If I told you that, then it wouldn't be any fun, would it?'

Sephiroth felt himself get taken over again. He always tried to fight it, but something within himself allowed him to succumb to it. It was as though destiny had determined it herself. He was to be a slave to this foreign being inside of him. _But... foreign? No... it's much too familiar to be foreign..._

'Of course, silly child... I am your mother, Sephiroth...'

__

No, Jenova! I refuse to accept it!

'Well then, if _I _am not your mother, then who is?'

__

...

'Well? It's a simple question, right?'

__

... Argh! Damn you...

'I'm glad you have finally seen the light... Now, be a good boy and do what Mommy tells you...'

~~~~~

Aeris sat on her bed, quietly sobbing. She could barely believe what she just saw. _Cloud... I thought you loved me... How could you do this... And Tifa, I thought you were my friend..._ Her grief seemed to reach no end. There was nothing that could possibly soothe her heart.

*Knock knock.*

Aeris quickly grabbed a tissue from the night-table nearby and wiped off the tears from her face. "Who is it?" she asked in a quivering voice.

A deep, chillingly penetrating voice answered. "It's Sephiroth."

"Oh, come in..."

Sephiroth entered the room, closing the door behind him, and stood there. "I... heard about Cloud and Tifa... I just thought you might want someone to talk to." He hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "Well, honestly, I need someone to talk to as well... Tifa was my girlfriend, you know..."

Aeris felt tears come back to her eyes. "S-Sephiroth... Thank you. It's just that... I... I can't believe that Cloud would..." She couldn't help herself from stopping the flow of tears that followed.

She felt Sephiroth's arms surround her, radiating a sense of comfort. She dug her head into his chest, sobbing quietly. Sephiroth, feeling a sudden wave of emotion, instinctively held her closer as a single tear rolled down his own cheek. "Don't worry, Aeris... I'll be here for you."

~~~~~

"Vincent? VINCENT!" A remarkably beautiful young woman with long, brown hair answered the door.

"Lu... Lucresia? Is... is that you?"

The young woman quickly pulled Vincent into her apartment, setting him down on the couch nearby. "Don't worry Vincent, everything is gonna be fine..."

"Lucresia... What... what's happening to me...?" Vincent was extremely exhausted and could barely breathe. _This isn't the first time this has happened. She knows something... She has to..._ "Lucresia, tell me... I need to know! What has that fucking bastard done to me!!!"

Lucresia shook her head. "I wish I could tell you, Vincent, but... I can't. I'm really sorry!" She noticed his face shift to an angrier expression. She needed to get away from the subject. "Hey, what happened that you got like this?"

Vincent looked away and shut his eyes. "Ugh... it's just that some people are really fucking stupid. I uhh... I went out to dinner with this girl, and then she goes off about her ex-boyfriend. I know I shouldn't have, I was already in a bad mood... But then what really got to me was when she called me a freak." He rubbed his temples with his fingers.

Lucresia's facial expression had changed completely at that point, from one of concern and caring to one of disappointment. "Oh, so you went out with a girl."

Vincent turned back towards her. "Listen Lucresia, you're the one that doesn't want to have a relationship with me."

"But you know that we can't! I'm your instructor!" she pleaded. However, Vincent just shook his head.

"And what the hell does that matter? Why does anyone have to know?" He felt anger rise up in himself again. "You know what? Just forget it. I'm sorry I ever bothered you. Good bye." He got up and made his way to the door.

"No Vincent, wait, I--"

The door slammed, the noise resounding in Lucresia's ears.

~~~~~

Cloud sat on the very-familiar park bench, watching the stars above. _There isn't a single cloud in the sky... Maybe it's because the clouds are in my head... Why was I named Cloud...? Is it supposed to be fate's sense of humor? Well, they've always said that fate is not without a sense of irony._

While he continued gazing at the stars, he began to notice a sound. _...Is that... Someone breathing?_ He silently followed the sound to it's source, which turned out to be a tree. He slowly edged around, only to see Tifa hugging her knees to her chest and her head down, weeping.

Strangely, Cloud did not become angry. Instead, seeing Tifa in such a vulnerable state made him feel weak. Something about seeing her crying made his insides churn with pain and guilt. _...Am I responsible for this?_

He quietly took a seat next to her, taking a similar position to her. Tifa looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Then, she closed her eyes and began to cry once more, putting her head back down. "What are you doing here... Just... Go away! All I do is cause you pain... I'm not worthy of any of your sympathy..."

"Tifa... I... I don't know what to tell you. I should hate you, I should want to kill you... But, I don't. And I'm not here to sympathize with you... I'm just confused right now. The one thing I know right now is that I don't want you to cry." _What am I saying? _Cloud thought. _What... what am I feeling?_

Tifa looked back up at Cloud. Her face was one of hopelessness. "Cloud, I deserve this. Please, just leave me alone." She looked back away.

Cloud turned her face back towards him. "No Tifa, you don't deserve this. You don't deserve any of this... You don't deserve to be crying over this, or what Sephiroth did to you, or anything at all!" _Why, why am I saying this! Why am I feeling this..._

She turned her face away once again, letting more tears flow. Soon, she was openly sobbing again. _Just... shut up, Cloud... just shut up, please..._

Cloud turned her face back to him. Without thinking, he kissed her. Tifa, shocked at first, soon gave in. They kissed each other, neither thinking about what was happening, just totally absorbed in the moment.

They both pulled away, realizing what had just happened. They were both blushing, yet they still looked at each other intently. Cloud was the first to speak. "Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--"

"Shh..." Tifa pressed her finger to his lips. She smiled and leaned into Cloud, burying into his neck and chest. Cloud found himself smiling as well, as he put his arm around Tifa and cuddled with her.

~~~~~

'Hehe, perfect... now that that foolish boy is out of the way, there is no stopping us...'

__

What if I refuse to help you?

'You would prefer not to find out.'

__

So you'll kill me? What will you do then?

'Ha, kill you? Fool, there are fates worse than death...'

Sephiroth suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his rib, which caused him to stagger slightly. He felt another jab on his other side, causing him to fall over. The stabs came continuously, the pain becoming unbearable. Before long, Sephiroth had gone unconscious.

'Foolish boy... You will do as I say because that is your purpose. You are... a puppet.'

~*~*~*~

A/N: Hello again! This took a really long time, I know. Well, I've been extremely busy, on top of having a lot of personal problems (A.K.A. girl trouble), so it's been hard for me to find time to write. Actually, it's just been hard for me to write, period. So, I'm sorry for the chapter being so late.

Well, I hope it was actually good, because I actually thought it was. I believe that's a first. I'll try to see if the next chapter will be longer, since I actually intended this one to be longer, but I figured it was good to stop now. The plot is just starting to thicken...

Well, thanks for reading, and remember to review! ^_^


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